‘Kafkaesque’ — UK Police Arrest Parents over Complaining About Their Daughter’s School in WhatsApp Group

British police have been accused of acting in a “Kafkaesque” manner after they arrested the parents of a nine-year-old girl over complaints they made about her primary school on WhatsApp.

Following a five week investigation, in January, Hertfordshire Police arrested Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levin in front of their daughter and placed in cell on suspicion of malicious communications, harassment, and causing a nuisance on school property over comments they made online about the Cowley Hill Primary School in Borehamwood, The Times of London reported on Saturday.

The dispute between the couple and the school is said to have began in May of 2024 when Allen questioned the process to replace the head teacher after the previous head had announced his retirement. The following month, the chairwoman of the school governors is claimed to have sent the parents a warning over causing “disharmony”.

The school reportedly went on to ban Allen and Levin from entering the grounds, demanding that they only communicate through email. The couple attempted to convince the school to lift the ban through numerous emails, noting that their nine-year-old daughter suffered from epilepsy.

The couple were also allegedly accused by the school of making “disparaging” remarks about the school and “casting aspersions” in a  parents’ group on the WhatsApp messaging service, prompting the school to contact police. In December, the local police are said to have told the parents to remove their child from the school, which they ultimately did in January.

However, a week later, police turned up at their doorstep and arrested the parents in full view of their daughter. They spent the next 11 hours at the station before being released around midnight, according to the paper.

Mr Allen, a producer for Times Radio, a digital broadcaster owned by the same group as the Times of London, told the paper that the school’s tactics were meant to “silence awkward parents” and accused the police of a “massive overreach” by arresting them.

“We’d never used abusive or threatening language, even in private, and always followed due process,” Allen said. “Yet we have never even been told what these communications were that were supposedly criminal, which is completely Kafkaesque.”

Levin added that she thought her daughter had died when the police came to her door, saying that she “could not think of any other reason why six police officers would be at my door”.

Heartfordshire Police ultimately chose not to take any further action after the arrest. A spokesman said: “The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations as is routine in these types of matters. Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken due to insufficient evidence.”

A Cowley Hill Primary school spokesman said: “We sought advice from the police following a high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts from two parents, as this was becoming upsetting for staff, parents and governors.

“We’re always happy for parents to raise concerns, but we do ask that they do this in a suitable way, and in line with the school’s published complaints procedure.”

The case has been cited as yet another example of the waning speech rights in Britain. The encroachment against freedom of speech in the UK was highlighted the following month after the couple were arrested by U.S. Vice President JD Vance during a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Vance warned that freedom of speech “is in retreat” in Britain and Europe and proclaimed that the greatest danger facing the continent comes from “within” rather than countries like Russia or China.

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